Heroes of the Storm: It Will End in Fire
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: The dragons of Azeroth had been created to safeguard their world, and as the Life-Binder, Alexstrasza had never flinched from her task. The dragons that had once roamed the Nexus however, were not so benevolent. Here, as on Azeroth however, she would stand as the guardian of all who lived.


**It Will End in Fire**

Dragon Shire was ablaze.

Alexstrasza had seen this sight many times over the millennia, and it had always sickened her. Her world had thrice been burnt by the hand of the Burning Legion. In the Second War, she had been forced to send her children to fight and die, slaves to the Horde, as they carved a bloody path through the Eastern Kingdoms. Deathwing had shattered the world in the Cataclysm, and she had used her own fire to finally end the monster's life. Fire, it seemed, would always return to the world. And with fire, came fury. Always from those who brought it, and in turn, her fire as well.

And now the same thing was happening in the Nexus.

From a crag overlooking King's Crest, she saw the trail of carnage the dragon knight left in its wake. Many times the knight awoke in the battles that plagued the shire, but always, the knight would return to cold sleep. The Realm Lords would play their games, and she would appease them grudgingly, whereas outside the battles, she would bring what joy she could to the people of the Nexus. The Realm Lords were beyond even her power, and she could not challenge them directly, but she would let them know that they had not broken their captives' will. But this…this was no mere proxy battle. The dragon knight was still awake, long after he should have returned to his slumber. Still wielding its giant axe, still incinerating the world around it, still shrugging off anything the people of King's Crest threw at it. Men-at-arms, knights, cannons, nothing worked.

 _Where is the Lady of Thorns?_ She wondered. _How can she abide this?_

She couldn't answer. None could answer. No other hero was in this realm now. The portals of the Nexus allowed easy travel between its lands, but Dragon Shire could be reduced to a smouldering ruin by the time any aid arrived. All that remained was her. One dragon against another. The question was, what could she do about it?

She took to wing and flew towards the dragon knight, wind at her back, and fire in her belly. She didn't answer the question. The question didn't need to exist. She was the Aspect of Life, and in this world or any other, she would preserve life wherever she might find it. So with the force of a battleship, she plunged into the dragon knight, sending it tumbling down towards the ground. The people looked up at her, in fear and terror. With a roar, she let out a burst of fire into the air.

 _Run,_ she bid them. _Run!_

They obliged. They would fear her, they would hate her, but they would live. She would endure any number of scars to ensure that. So as they turned, they did not see her fangs clasp around the dragon knight's throat. They did not see how she drew its blood, how it fell onto the grass, burning it. They did not see Alexstrasza scream as the knight's axe dug into her flesh, cutting through flesh and scale, reaching bone.

They would have heard it though. They might have even heard the dragon knight roar and charge into her, sending her tumbling along the grass.

 _What are you?_ Alexstrasza wondered. She flipped her tail, scarring the knight's cheek, causing it to recoil. She got to her feet and roared, the two dragons circling each other. _What monster resides within you?_

The dragon knight charged, but she batted it away with her wings. It flew fire, and she recoiled, only to take to the air and let out a barrage of fire of her own. The dragon knight might surpass her in strength, but it could not take to flight. Maybe if she remained up here, kept up the fire, she could-

It threw its axe.

 _No!_

It would hit her. She couldn't avoid it in time. She tried to twist her body, but the Aspect of Life was the largest of all red dragons, and could not, as the human Raynor put it, turn on a dime. The axe would hit her, wound her, perhaps kill her, and-

It didn't. She returned to her elven form in mid-air. One moment there was a dragon the size of a battlecruiser, the next there was an elf. Her favoured form, when walking amongst mortals. Small, lithe, yet still a vessel of power. As she fell, she unleashed a stream of fire against the dragon knight. As she fell, she let out a cry. As she fell, she reached out with her mind to touch the knight's. She was the Aspect of Life, and even here, she could feel it. All life, from the mightiest siege giant, to the smallest blade of grass. The dragon knight would feel her pain. Their pain. All of it.

It roared…no, _screamed_. It stumbled. And as she hit it, with fire and fury, it crumbled. With grace, she landed on the ground. She didn't pause to brush herself off, and instead picked up a sword off the ground – one of many that lay around the pile of ashes that had been the men-at-arms sent to fight the dragon knight. She would look the monster in the eye, and-

 _What?_

Looked it in the eye, but did nothing. Still did nothing, as the knight's pilot got to its…no, her, feet. Did nothing, but felt a chasm open up within her. As empty as the Great Dark Beyond, and just as cold.

It was the Lady of Thorns.

"You," Alexstrasza whispered.

"Me," said the realm lord, smiling the smile that only a monster could give as she got to her feet. "A very good show."

"You…you did…"

"Took one step closer to returning Dragon Shire to its natural state? You think I would let you heroes play your games and not learn anything? Have you never paid attention to my declarations that one day, this realm shall again be known as Dragon Spire? No. I let you use the dragon knight so that I might learn how to awake all the dragons. With my power, I could sustain its form longer than any of you 'heroes.' And this…" She gestured around the shire. To the burning wasteland it was turning into. "This is just the beginning. I-"

Alexstrasza grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. She was bound to love and cherish all life. She had even found forgiveness for the orcs. She had even come to pity Deathwing in the end, remembering the noble soul he had once been as Neltharion. But the lady, this realm lord…what pity could she have for her?

"These are your subjects," Alexstrasza hissed. "You rule over them, and you seek to…to _butcher_ them?"

"Why so angry?" the lady asked. "You too, a dragon. These… _people_ ," (she managed to spit), "have their fairs, and drink their wine, and live their insipid, meaningless lives, but you…you should relish the return of your own kind. You-"

Alexstrasza threw her to the ground. She clutched her fist, imagining the dirt that was on her hands now, just as surely as they were on those of the Lady of Thorns. Just touching her made her feel despoiled. "They are not the dragons of Azeroth," she said. "No dragon of Azeroth would seek such horror."

"Deathwing," the lady said. "Malygos."

Emptiness returned to Alexstrasza, this time with ice as well. She knew. How did the lady know?

"You can't harm me," said the lady, getting to her feet. "I am a realm lord, and no matter how many castles, or turrets, or monsters you slay, I am untouchable."

"Others have said those words," Alexstrasza murmured.

"Then dream your dreams of overthrowing us. I however, shall prepare to return Dragon Shire to its molten state. And laugh as the people hate you for it. For you too are a dragon, one who breathes fire as easily as a mortal breathes at all. You will fight, you will slay, and they will see you as a monster, whether you command the dragon knight or not."

Alexstrasza remained silent. She could bear it, she told herself. Children might hate their mother, but-

 _But you're not their mother._

The words were her own, but they still hurt. The people here…they were not of Azeroth. She was not _their_ Life-binder. To her, she was a dragon, nothing more. The lady smirked, and disappeared in a flash of light, returning to her own abode. Alexstrasza sorrowfully looked around. The lady's legacy. A dragon's legacy. A glimpse of the world that she sought. And all she could do was delay it.

Still, she could postpone that day as long as possible.


End file.
